‘We’re selling lifestyles’: Local RV dealers hope to rebound in 2024

As interest rates and inflation dug into Americans’ pocketbooks, their budget for recreation activity took a hit – hurting Inland Northwest RV and boat dealers.

But a slew of Spokane conventions this month aims to revive dipping sales.

This weekend, it’s the National RV Show at the Spokane Convention Center. Next weekend, it’s the Inland Northwest RV Show at the Spokane County Fair & Expo Center. And the weekend following is the Spokane Boat Show, also at the fairgrounds.

From Thursday through Jan. 21, the Inland Northwest RV Show will host seven local dealers and welcome some 12,000 visitors, according to Chris Cody, show director for the event.

“Vendors look forward to the event and are competitive to move inventory off their lots this time of year,” he said. “Just this weekend they will sell over 100 units.”

According to Chris Hickerson, general manager and partner at RVs Northwest, the conventions this month in Spokane and elsewhere in the Inland Northwest will lend valuable insight into the year ahead.

“I think by the end of January, we’ll get a good perspective of what the market is going to look like for at least Q1 through Q2,” Hickerson said. “But shows that have already started in the last week have not been favorable. They’ve been tough.”

The downturn in sales of recreational and leisure vehicles, like RVs and boats, follows a surge during COVID.

In 2021, 600,240 recreational vehicles were purchased, a record and an increase of 39.5% over 2020, according to RV Industry Association data.

But sales have been falling since. In 2022, 493,268 vehicles were purchased. This is far below prepandemic numbers.

According to Hickerson, sales are down 40% from before COVID, an unprecedented figure during his 22 years in the industry.

“When sales surged, the manufacturers couldn’t keep up with the number of units that the consumer wanted,” he said.

But as restrictions lifted and manufacturers ramped up production, supply began outstripping demand.

“Even 10 months ago, the market was different. There’s a lot of supply available, but market conditions like high interest rates have caused consumers to be skeptical of buying,” he said. “And we’re not selling beds or cars here; people have to have those. We sell something that is expendable cash – we’re selling lifestyles.”

Other recreational industries have followed a similar trajectory.

In 2020, boat sales reached levels not seen since before the Great Recession. According to data from the National Marine Manufacturers Association, sales of powerboats, sailboats and personal watercraft peaked in 2020 at 318,654 units, totaling $50.3 billion.

But in 2022, new powerboat sales decreased 13% year-over-year. Compared with 2019, 2022 sales were 6% lower. Preowned boat data shows 2022 sales down 13% year-over-year, but up 3% from 2019.

Industry trends

Though there is a segment of the recreational vehicles market looking for units called “bunkhouses” that can sleep eight to 10 people, many are looking for smaller units.

High interest rates and inflation have caused customers to opt for travel trailers instead of larger fifth wheel trailers or motor homes because of their relative affordability, Hickerson said.

“An average fifth wheel is $65,000 to $90,000 and to tow it comfortably you’ll need a $100,000-some diesel pickup truck,” he said. “Also, people already have vehicles like SUVs and smaller trucks that can tow smaller units like travel trailers, so we’re seeing this market increasing.”

Since the RV Industry Association began keeping record, customers have preferred towable RVs as opposed to motor homes. At its peak, around 38% of RV sales were drivable, meaning they were not trailers.

Today, less than 12% of RV sales are drivable.

Steve and Diane Jeffery stood in the kitchen area of a travel trailer at the National RV show Thursday as they inspected its cabinets, refrigerator and storage space.

They discussed as they sat on its leather couch.

The two are considering replacing their travel trailer that they have been pulling up and down the West Coast for the past 11 years.

“We’re thinking about buying this one that we have our eye on,” Diane Jeffery said. “But we haven’t decided whether the cost differences justify a change between putting money into a fix-up of ours or to just buy new.”

Though the newer model would come with a hefty price tag, the two were impressed with its technology.

“It’s lightweight, the bathroom is roomy with a good-sized shower, it had a king-size bed in it,” Steve Jeffery said. “Oh, and we really liked the electronics.”

Cody has helped put on the RV show for the past 22 years and has seen technological innovation in the industry accelerate in the past decade.

“I mean, when you get into Class A motor homes, upward of half a million bucks, you’ve got tile floors, washers and dryers, multiple flat-screen TVs, fireplaces,” he said. “It’s definitely your home on wheels.”

The Jefferys are also interested in a system that automatically levels the trailer and a battery charger that uses solar power.

Hickerson has fielded much interest from customers on solar energy.

“It allows somebody to get as much power as they need off the grid instead of being plugged in at an RV park,” Hickerson said.

The lure of the outdoors

Though RVs can bring the comfort of home to the wilderness, Hickerson said customers often want features that bring them closer to the wild.

“We’re seeing outdoor kitchens are more important so people can still enjoy the outdoors without having to go inside their RV to cook and eat,” he said. “Four or five years ago, outdoor flat-screens were a fad, but now it’s outside barbecues, flat grills, sinks and refrigerators.”

This is the mindset of retired couple Peter Sally and Louise Walton. The two own a 100-acre farm near Clayton, Washington, but have long wanted to visit their relatives scattered around the West and New England.

“The older you get, the less you can do on the farm – and we’re getting older,” Walton said. “So we’re going to have to find something else to do.”

This couple is looking for something small that allows them to traverse remote areas.

“The bigger RVs are wonderful and plush, but you’re limited on where you can go,” Sally said. “We are more looking for a small trailer that’s just big enough for us and can take us off the beaten path a little bit.”

When the two aren’t bailing hay, they spend their spring and summer months riding their horses around the Inland Northwest.

Though the idea is intriguing to trade their horses for a pickup and travel trailer, the two decided an RV was not worth it at the price point, said Walton, 79.

“I’m still too young to do that,” she said. “The horses aren’t worn out quite yet. And neither am I.”